Equal treatment for identically placed employees holding the same post in the matter of grant of grade pay, and the violation of constitutional provisions.

Mr. S.C. Sharma, J.

1. The petitioners before this Court are the employees of Bank Note Press, Dewas, which is owned and controlled by the Government of India, in fact, it is an Institution under the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd.,

2. The petitioners No.1 to 6 were appointed on the post of Junior Machine Assistant in the pay scale of Rs.5200 - 20200 + Grade Pay Rs.1900 and petitioners No. 7 to 10 were appointed on the post of Senior Machine Assistant in the pay scale of Rs.5200 - 20200 + Grade Pay Rs. 2400/-. They have been confirmed on their respective posts by order dated 11/2/2014. The petitioners No.1 to 6 have been further promoted to the post of Senior Machine Assistant in the regular pay scale of Rs. 5200 - 20200 + Grade Pay 2400. Their promotion orders are also on record.

3. Petitioners' grievance is that certain persons who are appointed on the post of Mazdoor and later on promoted as cook and further promoted to the post of Junior and Senior Machine Assistants without holding qualification of the post, have been granted higher pay.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners has fairly stated before this Court that to the extent their promotions are concerned, even though they do not hold the qualification for the post of Junior and Senior Machine Assistant, the petitioners are not challenging their promotion orders, however, they are aggrieved by grant of higher pay scale to the persons who were working as Mazdoor and later on promoted as cook and further promoted to the post of Junior and Senior Machine Assistants.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has straightway drawn attention of this Court towards the order dated 2/5/2014 which provides for grant of higher grade pay to senior and junior machine assistants to the tune of Rs.2800/- and Rs.2400/-, respectively. However, there is a rider to the aforesaid grant and paragraph 3 of the same order provides that the benefit of higher grade pay will be given only to those employees who were in service employees, meaning thereby, who were initially appointed in Bank Note Press, Dewas prior to formation of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd., His contention is that the Grade Pay is attached to a post and once a decision has been taken to grant grade pay to a particular post, it has to be the same for all the employees working in an organisation.

6. On the other hand, Mr. Vivek Patwa, learned counsel for the respondent has vehemently argued before this Court that the aforesaid document dated 2/5/2014 has rightly been issued by the Bank Note Press, Dewas. Learned counsel for the respondent submitted that Mazdoors were promoted to the post of Cook and later on promoted to the post of Junior Assistant and Senior Machine Assistant even though there were not having qualification for the post in question. It has been stated that in order to grant benefit of higher pay scale to the employees working in Bank Note Press, Dewas who were employees of Bank Note Press, Dewas since inception have been granted benefit of higher grade pay in order to resolve the anomaly of grade pay on account of recommendations of 5th Pay Commission. Learned counsel for the respondent vehemently argued before this Court that the petitioners and the employees who were initially appointed under the Bank Note Press, Dewas formed two classes of employees and, therefore, by no stretch of imagination, the petitioners can claim parity with those employees who were continuing in Bank Note Press, Dewas prior to establishment of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd., Learned counsel for the respondent has prayed for dismissal of the present Writ Petition.

7. Heard learned counsel for the parties at length and perused the record.

8. In the present case, the undisputed facts reveal that the petitioners No.1 to 6 were appointed as Junior Machine